She had to be rushed to hospital after she accidentally spilled the hot chocolate from McDonald’s on her lap
18:00, 17 Jul 2025Updated 19:49, 17 Jul 2025
(Image: Ray Orton via Getty Images)
A young girl has suffered serious burns after spilling a hot chocolate from a Westcountry branch of McDonald’s. Levi Oldham says her eight year old daughter, Lily, is now has to attend weekly appointments at a burns unit.
The mother from Camborne detailed how she visited the McDonald’s in Pool last Tuesday (July 8) and bought five hot chocolates for her family. Levi alleged she received the hot chocolates from the drive-thru with “no warning” regarding their temperature.
Nevertheless, a McDonald’s spokesperson stated the company provides temperature warnings on both the lids and cups of its hot beverages.
Within minutes of giving her daughter one of the hot chocolates, Levi reported that Lily screamed out as she accidentally knocked the drink onto her lap. Lily was left with serious burns and was immediately taken to A&E for medical attention.
“We get [hot chocolates] often, to drink while watching the sunset and they have always been drinkable,” Levi said. “This occasion was different. I was handed the hot chocolates with absolutely no warning on just how hot they were.”, reports Cornwall Live.
“So as I normally would, I handed Lily hers. Five minutes later, Lily let out screams that will forever haunt me. She spilt the hot chocolate on her lap, causing significant burns. We made a trip to A&E where she was treated straight away.”
Levi revealed that medical professionals informed her the burns were more severe than initially assessed, meaning Lily is now receiving treatment at Derriford Hospital’s specialist trauma burns unit in Plymouth. She is also receiving antibiotic treatment for an infection and must attend weekly appointments at Derriford for burn dressing changes.
Eight-year-old Lily suffered severe burns after spilling a McDonald’s hot chocolate on her lap(Image: Levi Oldham)
Following the incident, Levi explained that Lily was unable to play, walk properly, or even wash herself due to the extent of her burns. Levi mentioned she has had to take time off work to accommodate the lengthy journeys to Derriford Hospital, which combined with parking costs, is starting to create financial strain.
Whilst Levi confirmed that Lily is now physically recovering well and her mobility has significantly improved, the accident has taken a psychological toll. “It’s had quite an impact on her,” Levi explained to CornwallLive.
“She’s waiting for food to cool down quite a lot before she eats it, which is not normal for her. She’s normally quite a good eater so [the accident] has affected her mentally.”
At first, Levi admitted she felt responsible, but now she claims to feel frustrated that they weren’t warned about the temperature of the beverages. “The thing is, we’re regulars, we often go and get a hot chocolate but it has never been a problem and Lily will hold it until it has cooled down but I didn’t even think about how hot it was,” Levi explained.
“I’ve gone through the guilty stage but now I’m just angry. We were given it without a warning about how hot it was and I’m just hoping [Lily] can recover from this mentally because she’s putting on a brave face but it’s been having an impact on her.”
After the distressing event, Levi recounted contacting the McDonald’s outlet in Pool to inform them of what had transpired. Despite this, she reported that their response was merely to offer Lily a complimentary beverage, which they declined.
Levi took further steps by reaching out to McDonald’s corporate office to ensure the matter would be looked into. “I have spoken to the head office and I rang the Pool McDonald’s and they offered us a free drink but at the time, we weren’t actually aware of how significant the burns were,” she explained.
The severity of the situation became apparent only after a hospital visit where Lily underwent tests for toxic shock syndrome. Levi shared her concern: “It wasn’t until we went to hospital and Lily was tested for toxic shock were we told the burns went a lot deeper than we thought. Without sounding too dramatic, toxic shock can be fatal so it was quite worrying really. She just wanted a hot chocolate.”
CornwallLive has received information indicating that the McDonald’s in question conducted a check of its hot drinks machine on the night of the incident, confirming that beverages are being dispensed at the appropriate temperature.
A spokesperson for McDonald’s expressed regret, stating: “We’re very sorry to hear about this customer’s experience. Customer safety is of the utmost importance to us, therefore we provide warnings about the hot contents of our hot drinks both on the lids and the cups themselves. We believe that the customer is now in touch with our customer services team who are assisting with a resolution.”